The sheer magnitude of Ontario's opioid crisis became tragically clear with last week's revelation that 865 people in this province had died after overdosing on one of these powerful drugs in 2016. To put this heartbreaking figure in perspective, consider that in the same year Ontario recorded 206 homicides while motor vehicle collisions claimed 482 lives, which included 96 alcohol-related deaths. People and politicians are rightly committed to protecting human lives by preventing homicides, making roads safer and cracking down on drunk driving. [continues 392 words]
Chief medical examiner's office pores over deaths in opioid fight EDMONTON - In the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner each morning, medical examiners, investigators, and morgue staff divide the stack of files containing unexplained deaths that have come in from the night before. Five years ago, this department, headquartered in a low-slung grey building in Edmonton, investigated between 1,900 to 2,000 cases a year. But in the last couple of years the caseload has jumped to between 2,500 to 2,600 annually - the bulk of that increase, officials say, is due to fentanyl and other opioid deaths. [continues 1507 words]
There are a lot of very smart people in North Bay. It would be interesting to see if the bright lights here can find an opportunity hiding in the weeds to solve the opioid crisis. And I'm not referring to emergency funding injections or quick-fix policy. More than 700 health-care professionals urged the province this week to declare an emergency so more funding can flow to Ontario's front-line programs. Overdose prevention sites, they say, need a boost to stem the tide as deaths are mounting beyond even the HIV pandemic decades ago. [continues 651 words]
In 1805, German apothecary Friedrich Serturner revolutionized the practice of pharmacy by isolating morphine from opium. Opium, the latex exuded by the bulb of the poppy plant on scoring with a sharp instrument, has a long history of use dating back to about 3400 BC. The Sumerians, living in the region that is modern day Iraq, are known to have cultivated the poppy and were aware of the effects of consuming its juice, referring to it as the "joy plant." Judging by artwork depicting Sumerian medicine men carrying poppies, they were also aware of opium's painkilling abilities. [continues 744 words]
Drugs that treat pain are both a blessing and a curse. Too often a prescription that brings relief leads to addiction and an overdose death. Those drugs are classed as opioids. Oxycodone (best know under the brand name OxyContin) and fentanyl get the most attention at the moment but old standbys like Demerol, Percodan and Percocet are still in the mix. A new study of prescription opioid use done by the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network has found that Peterborough city and county have the fourth-highest rate of opioid overdose deaths in the province. [continues 364 words]
A new super-powered drug fuelling a deadly opioid epidemic across Canada has claimed its first Windsor victim. Windsor police confirmed Thursday that a person found dead on the front porch of a downtown house died from a carfentanil overdose. "Carfentanil is designed to tranquilize extremely large animals," said Sgt. Steve Betteridge. "It is not designed for human consumption. This is an example of what human consumption will do to you. This is an extremely dangerous drug." Carfentanil is a synthetic opioid that is 100 times more powerful that fentanyl, 4,000 times more powerful than heroin and 10,000 times more potent than morphine. It's used to tranquilize elephants. A few milligrams can be lethal to humans. [continues 294 words]
On Feb. 4, 2014, my only child died - alone - of an accidental overdose. Jordan's death was a shock. It still is. Looking back, with the benefit of hindsight, I can connect the dots that led our happy, outgoing child to become addicted to opioids. Each of those dots represents an opportunity missed, a lesson to be learned. It's time those lessons be applied. Today, Jordan's experience - and ours as parents - is, sadly and unnecessarily, a common one. At the time, however, we were lost in the uncertainty of how to help our son. [continues 625 words]
Community marks International Overdose Awareness Day for first time A total of 48 opioid-related deaths have been reported in Chatham-Kent between 2005 and 2016, according to Public Health Ontario, but it's likely that number is higher. Jordynne Lindsay, a registered nurse with the Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit, believes the number of local deaths could be under-reported due to a difference in the coding used by the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance emergency department, Chatham-Kent EMS and Chatham-Kent police. [continues 512 words]
Overdose awareness event equal parts memorial and educational The Ally Centre of Cape Breton is hosting an event for International Overdose Awareness Day to remember those lost to overdose and bring awareness to the opioid crisis on the island. "Each year we try to make an impact, somehow, to draw attention to overdose and the effect it's having on our communities," explained Christine Porter, executive director of the Ally Centre. From 2008-2016, there have been 169 overdose deaths in CapeBreton. [continues 602 words]
The Taliban in Afghanistan is now running significant heroin production lines in the war-torn country to provide jihadists and insurgents with billions of dollars, western law enforcement officials And much of that heroin is flowing into Canada. "More than 90 per cent of all heroin consumed in the US is of Mexican origin. But in Canada more than 90 per cent of the heroin consumed is of Afghan origin," said William Brownfield, US Assistant Secretary for Drugs and Law Enforcement when addressing reporters in the Afghan capital Kabul recently. [continues 842 words]
Psst. Pass the word along. Much like the warning at the '60s Woodstock concert to avoid the brown acid, authorities are warning today's recreational drug users to carry naloxone kits in case their drugs are laced with fentanyl. "We're alerting recreational drug users that the MDMA (ecstasy) or cocaine they're taking could be tainted with fentanyl," said Janice Greco, manager of injury and substance misuse prevention at the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU). Greco is sounding the alarm after the health unit was warned of a spike in overdoses between Aug. 9 and Aug. 13 by its surveillance program at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH). [continues 582 words]
As deadly fentanyl fuels a public health crisis, Free Press reporter Jennifer Bieman reveals what you should know about common London street drugs Forget the old adage that what you don't know, can't hurt you. When it comes to street drugs, what you don't know can kill you. That was the thrust of a rare public health warning - three health agencies and London police joined in its release - last week in London, when authorities stressed that the latest villain in Canada's opioid drug crisis, deadly fentanyl, is turning up in other illegal street drugs. [continues 1350 words]
Sarnia cops warn of opioid-laced street drugs after three overdoses - one of them fatal - in five hours Three overdoses in mere hours, one of them deadly - the sinister new face of Southwestern Ontario's opioid drug crisis has killed again, this time not a week after a rare public health warning about the often-hidden killer. A few grains of the powerful painkiller fentanyl, mixed with cocaine, likely caused a fatal overdose Wednesday night in Sarnia, prompting a new warning from police in that city about drugs laced with fentanyl. [continues 936 words]
Public health officials are promoting the use of the drug naloxone to help save people from opioid overdoses. Seattle's opioid crisis is a complicated medical, political and emotional issue, but state leaders are attempting to tackle one of the most immediate concerns facing those on the front line of the fight: Keeping users alive during an overdose. The Seattle Police Department implemented a nasal naloxone (also known Narcan) program in March 2016, training 60 bike officers to administer the drug to anyone they believed to be suffering from an opioid overdose. The program has been a modest success, with officers reviving 20 people thus far according to Officer Steve Redmond, and there are hopes the program can be expanded department wide. [continues 510 words]
Shortly after becoming licensed as a family therapist, I was hired to facilitate group therapy on a chemical dependency unit. I did this every day for about 10 years. I also coordinated family group for the spouses and relatives of those who were recovering from alcohol and drug abuse. There were a lot of "take aways" from this experience. Despite my education, I held many prejudices and myths toward those who abused alcohol and drugs. These men and women taught me a great deal. [continues 459 words]
"Federal drug prosecutions have gone down in recent years. We're going to be bringing them up and bringing them up rapidly. At the end of 2016, there were 23 percent fewer than in 2011. So they looked at this scourge and they let it go by, and we're not letting it go by." President Trump -- who two days after this briefing said he would declare the opioid epidemic to be a national emergency -- not so subtly tried to pin the blame on the Obama administration. "They looked at this scourge and they let it go by," the president said, citing statistics that federal drug prosecutions have declined 23 percent since 2011. [continues 654 words]
If half a dozen deaths in Toronto last week were likely attributable to fatal opioid-related overdoses, how many do you think would have died if those drugs were legal? Fewer? I don't see the logic in that. Easier access to drugs and no criminal liability wouldn't discourage use, surely. And we're not talking here about a mild mind-bending substance such as pot, which is to become decriminalized in Canada next year. Still stupid - dumb-downing of the populace . . . but it is the consensus will of the nation - because we seem to be just fine with the stupefying effect of "recreational" marijuana and hash despite all the evidence of young lives going off the rails when teenagers toked to the gills lose interest in school and sports and healthy activities. [continues 920 words]
Five people in two days sent to hospital after taking drugs believed to be laced with fentanyl Local health officials are raising the alarm after a string of fentanyl overdoses this week. On Tuesday and Wednesday, five people, including three in Kingston, were sent to hospital after taking drugs believed to be laced with bootleg fentanyl. "What we know is all five did require paramedic services and support in hospital, and we believe that they are related to fentanyl-contaminated drugs, just from the clinical signs and symptoms we saw," said Fareen Karachiwalla, associate medical officer of health with Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Public Health. [continues 740 words]
Bootleg fentanyl blamed for five overdoses, two of which didn't respond to double doses of antidote WOODSTOCK - Five Oxford County overdoses in the last half of June likely were caused by a bad batch of heroin, possibly laced with particularly potent bootleg fentanyl, a health official says. "Our clients are scared," said Oxford County public health nurse Lisa Gillespie. "From everything I have heard, bootleg fentanyl has arrived in Oxford or there is a very bad batch of heroin going around." [continues 467 words]
CAMBRIDGE - Cambridge coroner Dr. Hank Nykamp is tired of political rhetoric and inaction as the local fentanyl crisis deepens. The longtime city doctor has been a Cambridge coroner since 1985. He has seen the best and worst of the city during his career. He loves this city, but believes more must be done to stem the growing number of opioid overdose cases crossing his examination table. "Five years ago it was oxycodone. Now it's fentanyl and carfentanil, which is even more powerful and used to knock out elephants," he said. "Something needs to be done and we can't wait on the politicians." [continues 836 words]
